Nike_Virgil Lab_chicago
A community initiative empowering Chicago youth to leave their mark on the city and beyond, championed by Virgil Abloh and facilitated by Nike. The project aimed to challenge the norms of retail, production, and community engagement under the prompt “make the machine do something.” The space was designed as a modular, transformable hub made from Nike Grind—recycled and unused shoe parts—alongside recyclable and reusable materials. Serving as an evergreen community creation center, the space hosted weekly programming led by local Chicago creatives in architecture, product design, photography, and graphic identity. It also functioned as a flexible retail space with rotating product launches and a recycling center leveraging Nike’s re-use a shoe program. Footwear collected during the year-long pop-up contributed to the refurbishment of the Boys & Girls Club basketball court and the give-back initiative launched during 2020 All-Star Week in the Chicago area.
“A power plan of the different kind, engaging physical and cultural energy in a way that changes the community for the better through the environment of sport.”
- Virgil Abloh
Project Features:
Creative Strategy, experiential design, interactive digital design, branding & identity, material research and development, custom fixture design and production, product donation and recycling, curriculum development and programming, artist and influencer collaboration, architectural design & execution, store operations and support services, contractor & vendor management, city & local building code coordination, cross-functional planning & alignment, operational excellence *budget, time, delivery.
